P6.8M shabu seized; 2 suspects arrested

DUMAGUETE CITY, Philippines – Police operatives confiscated half a kilo of shabu, estimated to be worth P6.8 million, and arrested two drug pushing suspects during an anti-illegal drugs raid Tuesday evening at Barangay Daro of this city.

This was so far the biggest shabu haul in Negros Oriental for this year, according to Inspector Ryan Jay Orapa, chief of the Provincial Anti-Illegal Special Operations Task Group of the Negros Oriental Provincial Police Office.

Orapa identified the arrested suspects as Holden Jocum Ferrolino, 32, a resident of Barangay Piapi and Reymark Secheco Amistoso, 22, of Barangay Buñao, all in Dumaguete City.

Around 6:05 p.m. Tuesday, combined elements of the NorPPO Intelligence Branch and the Special Operations Group, led by Senior Inspector Jul Mohammad Jamiri, in coordination with the PAIDSOTG and the Dumaguete Police, swooped down on the suspects in an entrapment operation.

Orapa said the team seized from the suspects 117 pieces of big plastic packs of suspected shabu, with an estimated weight of 508 grams and value of about P6.8 million, based on the Dangerous Drugs Board pricing of the prohibited substance and a mobile phone.

The police described Ferrolino as a Level-2 “drug pusher,” a category for one who can dispose at least half a kilo of illegal drugs per week, while Amistoso was his alleged runner.

Orapa said the arrest of Ferrolino and Amistoso further strengthened the PNP’s previous pronouncements that a main supply line of shabu in Negros Oriental is from within the confines of the national penitentiary in Muntinlupa City of Metro Manila, based on the text messages found in the cellphone of the suspects.

It was surmised that the large volume of confiscated shabu had just been delivered to Ferrolino, a former employee of a courier chain with many outlets in this city, Orapa told The Freeman.

Orapa said Ferrolino, who was under surveillance for several weeks before his arrest, had access to and knew the ropes of the courier system, which made it easy for him to retrieve shipment from Metro Manila. At first, Ferrolino would claim the shipment directly from the airport instead of picking it up from any of the courier’s outlets, he added.

Just recently though, perhaps sensing he was being tailed, Ferrolino reportedly sent Amistoso, his “right-hand man,” to pick up the latest delivery at an outlet near the Capitol.

Shortly after, the police operatives set up an entrapment operation resulting in the arrest of the two suspects, said Orapa, adding that the packs of shabu were concealed in various items and placed inside a box addressed to Ferrolino.

Orapa said the proliferation of shabu in Dumaguete and other parts of Negros Oriental is now alarming because every time a police operation is launched, the volume of illegal drugs involved is getting bigger.

The illegal drugs that arrive in the province, usually in Dumaguete, is intended for local clientele and that shabu is easily disposed of due to an increase in demand for it, Orapa added.

Ferrolino and Amistoso, who are now detained, were formally charged on Wednesday for a non-bailable offense of violating the Dangerous Drugs Law. (FREEMAN)